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With Arsenal taking on Southampton on Saturday, it is unlikely Gunners midfielder Ainsley Maitland-Niles will feature in the starting lineup. The star's lack of playing time under Mikel Arteta has been a source for concern. Maitland-Niles is reportedly intent on leaving the club.
His future at Arsenal has been in doubt since the start of the year when he took to Instagram to share his desire to leave. However, after a meeting with Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta, Maitland-Niles was 'promised' more minutes, which stalled the star's decision to leave the club.
However, after 15 gameweeks this season. Maitland-Niles has only started two games, and appeared as a substitute in six others. According to reports from Daily Mail, the broken promises surrounding his playing time has left the star unhappy at Arsenal.
In Arsenal's recent game against Everton, the 24-year-old didn't come on at all, despite being the best player on the pitch on his last start.
Players like Thomas Partey remain higher up the pecking order than him, getting more minutes despite underwhelming performances. Partey notably lost several duels in midfield during the Everton game. He eventually made the error that led to Demarai Gray's late winner against Arsenal.
Thomas Partey's potential departure for the Africa Cup of Nations would put Arsenal under pressure to fulfil their promise of more game time to Maitland-Niles. If Arteta's promise remain unfulfilled, he could risk losing the unsettled star in the January window.
"He has a huge talent because he's versatile enough" - Mikel Arteta on Arsenal star Ainsley Maitland-Niles
Although Ainsley Maitland-Niles has struggled for playing time with Arsenal, he has impressed in recent appearances under manager Mikel Arteta. The star notably performed brilliantly in the matchup against Watford, impressing the Arsenal boss, who said:
“First of all, I see a different player in terms of his urgency, his commitment, the clarity in his play, his purpose. Since we made the decision (to keep him), it was clear what I was seeing that I wanted him to stay, because he was going to be useful.
“He has a huge talent because he’s versatile enough to adapt to almost any position on the pitch. Today we made use of him to do what he had to do in the game, which was really important."
